The Professional Bulletin of the Armor Branch PB 17-07-4 Editor in Chief Features LTC SHANE E. LEE 7 Six Easy Ways to Lose a War at the Tactical Level Managing Editor by Colonel Jeffrey Sanderson and Major Jay Miseli CHRISTY BOURGEOIS 11 A Commander’s Guide to the Forward Support Company by Major Trenton J. Conner Commandant MG ROBERT M. WILLIAMS 18 “King of the Killing Zone,” How Well Has It Held Up? by Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Harris ARMOR (ISSN 0004-2420) is published bi- 21 Integrating Armor into Personnel Recovery Operations month ly by the U.S. Army Armor Center, by Captain Romeo P. Cubas, U.S. Marine Corps ATTN: ATZK-DAS-A, Building 1109A, 201 6th Avenue, Ste 373, Fort Knox, KY 40121-5721. 26 Retaking Sa’ad: Successful Counterinsurgency in Tal Afar Disclaimer: The information contained in AR- by Major Niel Smith MOR represents the professional opinions of the authors and does not necessarily reflect 36 So You Want to Train an Iraqi Mechanized Brigade? the official Army or TRADOC position, nor does it change or supersede any information by Major William T. Nuckols Jr. presented in other official Army publications. 40 Falklands Armor Official distribution is limited to one copy for by Retired Brigadier General Raymond Bell Jr. each armored brigade headquarters, ar mored cavalry regiment headquarters, armor battal- ion headquarters, armored cavalry squadron 46 Winning in Degraded Mode head quarters, reconnaissance squadron head- by Wakeland K. Kuamoo and Sergeant First Class Brian Reel quar ters, armored cavalry troop, armor com- pany, and motorized brigade headquarters of 48 My Kingdom for a Proper Fitting Fan Belt the United States Army. In addition, Army li- by Lieutenant Colonel Scott Fowler braries, Army and DOD schools, HQ DA and MACOM staff agencies with responsibility for armored, direct fire, ground combat systems, organizations, and the training of personnel Departments for such organizations may request two cop ies by sending a request to the editor in chief. 2 Contacts Authorized Content: ARMOR will print only 3 Letters those materials for which the U.S. Army Armor 4 Commander’s Hatch Center has proponency. That proponency in- 5 Driver’s Seat cludes: all armored, direct-fire ground combat 6 From the Boresight Line systems that do not serve primarily as infantry carriers; all weapons used exclusively in these 51 Reviews systems or by CMF 19-series enlisted soldiers; 53 Armor Strong any miscellaneous items of equipment which armor and armored cavalry organizations use exclusively; training for all 19-series officers and for all CMF-19-series enlisted soldiers; and information concerning the training, logis- tics, history, and leadership of armor and ar- mored cavalry units at the brigade/regiment level and below, to include Threat units at those levels. Material may be reprinted, provided credit is given to ARMOR and to the author, except where copyright is indicated. Periodicals Postage paid at Fort Knox, KY, and additional mailing offi ces. Postmaster: Send address changes to Editor, ATTN: ATZK-DAS-A, ARMOR, 201 6th Avenue, Ste 373, Fort Knox, KY 40121-5721. Distribution Restriction: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. July-August 2007, Vol. CXVI, No. 4 USPS 467-970 “From My Position...” “This is just not another training pamphlet; it is a magazine and of an after-action review often lead to markedly improved perfor- like all good magazines it will be interesting, stimulating and, I hope, mance during subsequent missions. Their article is designed to at times amusing. In it you will find current military thought, tips on promote the kind of discussion that will lead to improvement at the training, and the lessons of war illustrated by experience in battle. level of responsibility of most of the readers of this journal — the tactical level. “You will be the authors of the articles; you will contribute the ideas and suggestions that will make alive your training and your lead- Unlike more recent editions of ARMOR, this issue has no control- ership. We have all got a lot to learn and we have all got some- ling theme. It is a collection of articles that touch on recent armor thing which, out of our own experience and study, we can teach. history, lessons learned, and professional development. Leaders This magazine is to enable us to share the results of that experi- unfamiliar with the capabilities of the forward support company in ence and that study. I want every officer and NCO to read the heavy brigade combat teams for example, will find Major Trenton [journal] and I want a lot of you to contribute to it.” Conner’s article, “A Commander’s Guide to the Forward Support Company,” to be a very useful summary of the roles, missions, and Field Marshal Viscount Slim of Burma organization of this vitally important unit. Additionally, Major Niel Forward to the first edition of the British Army Journal, Smith provides some valuable insights into the planning and ex- later renamed British Army Review ecution of a successful counterinsurgency operation in Sa’ad in his article “Retaking Sa’ad: Successful Counterinsurgency in Tal Although ARMOR is a professional bulletin, according to Depart- Afar.” In it, he not only recounts the major events of the opera- ment of the Army Pamphlet 25-40, I could not have found a better tion, but also discusses the thought processes behind the selec- description of our publication than the one Field Marshal Slim ar- tion of Sa’ad as the target of the effort. For this reason, it may be ticulated for his own army’s journal in 1949. ARMOR is a reflec- especially useful to leaders facing similar situations in their areas tion of the force it serves. As such, it serves to educate mounted of operation. soldiers and encourage them to think more deeply about their pro- fession. Every edition of ARMOR is a brief sound bite of an unbro- If it has been a while since you last read ARMOR’s “Letters to the ken dialogue that began in 1888. Long before we knew anything Editor” section, make sure you take a look at this month’s version. about knowledge management or communities of practice, our Dr. Robert Cameron’s article, “Scouts Out — But Not in HMMWVs!,” mounted ancestors came together on the pages of this publica- which appeared in the March-April issue, has sparked the kind of tion to learn from each other. We are very proud of our branch’s passionate response that has been the hallmark of our journal for professional journal and constantly seek ways to improve its qual- many years. Recently, we were somewhat concerned that either ity and relevance to the armor force. the force was too busy to respond to our articles or the articles themselves were not sufficiently thought provoking to motivate our Frank, but professional, discussions will always find a welcome readers to write. The responses to Dr. Cameron’s article have at home in this publication. Although it has a provocative title, “Six least temporarily put those concerns to rest. We constantly seek Easy Ways to Lose a War at the Tactical Level,” by Colonel Jeffrey to find articles that promote thoughtful and professional discus- Sanderson and Major Jay Miseli, is not one of those articles in- sion on any subject that affects the armor force. If you have an tentionally designed to be offensive. At times, it is an uncomfort- opinion on a particular issue, take time to organize your thoughts, able read, but it is uncomfortable in the same way that mid-rota- conduct some supporting research if necessary, and write them tion after-action reviews at our combat training centers are uncom- down. In the end, we will all benefit from your efforts. fortable. No one likes to sit through those events, but most of us recognize their usefulness. Discussions started during the course S.E. LEE By Order of the Secretary of the Army: Official: JOYCE E. MORROW GEORGE W. CASEY, JR. Administrative Assistant to the General, United States Army Secretary of the Army Chief of Staff 0712401 DSN prefix – 464- Points of Contact Commercial prefix– (502) 624- ARMOR Editorial Offices U.S. Army Armor Center Editor in Chief Commanding General (ATZK-CG) LTC Shane E. Lee 4087 MG Robert M. Williams 2121 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Managing Editor Deputy Commanding General (ATZK-DCG) Christy Bourgeois 4582 COL Peter Bayer Jr. 7555 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Editor Chief of Staff (ATZK-CS) Vivian Oertle 2610 POC: Jessica Miller 1101 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Art Director Command Sergeant Major (ATZK-CSM) Mr. Jody Harmon 3923 CSM Otis Smith 4952 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Editorial Assistant Kathy A. Johnson 2249 Command Sergeant Major to DCG (ATZK-DCG-CSM) E-mail: [email protected] CSM Raymond Chandler 7091 E-mail: [email protected] Special Assistant to the CG (ARNG) (ATZK-SA) ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS: To improve speed and accuracy in edit- COL Marlin Levendoski 1315 ing, manuscripts should be originals or clear copies, either typed or print- E-mail: [email protected] ed out double-spaced, with a 3½-inch disk in Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, or ASCII (please indicate wordprocessing format on disk or Directorate of Training, Doctrine, and Combat Development cover letter). Tape captions to any illustrations or photos submitted. Ad- COL Robert Valdivia (ATZK-TD) ditionally, we accept articles as e-mail or attachments at: E-mail: [email protected] 8247 [email protected] TRADOC Capability Manager for Heavy Brigade Combat Team When sending articles via e-mail, please include a complete mailing ad- COL Jeff B.